July 4th

Any suggestions guys of the best place to go tomorrow, need beach most important

Hey Nick! It's pretty tough right now, if you're looking for upscale. Bikini Beach on Orient is supposed to open SOON, but no idea if they are actually open yet, and if they are actually open, service would probably be pretty harried. That's the only potential shot on Orient Beach, for upscale. All the other big beach restaurants on Orient are not a possibility. Several of the restaurants in Orient Village are open, but they are NOT on the beach. Club Orient has the Perch, but all they have are burgers, etc. There are a couple of other small beach bars there on Orient, close to where Pedro's was, but they are also real casual places. Dreams is gone. You could try Friars Bay Beach Club. Not nearly as upscale as Dreams or most of the places on Orient, but it will be open and it is French. Both Yellow Beach and Karibuni are both open on Pinel. You have to take a ferry to get there, and there has been a LOT of sargassum close to the ferry dock recently and SOMETIMES the ferry hasn't been running because of it, but I'm not certain of the exact status right now of the sargassum. Both of their menus have been posted here recently. I can look them up if you can't find them. That's about it for the French side. Dutch side, on the beach, for relatively upscale, you have Mary's Boon and Karakter, which are right next door to each other. Both will probably be packed tomorrow. There is also El Zafiro, on the other side of Simpson Bay by the airport, which I personally do NOT consider upscale at all, and I would go to any and all of the other places I mentioned before going to El Zafiro, but I just mention it, as there are so few options right now. Let me know if you have any other questions. If it were ME, and I wanted to be sure of where I was going, I would go for Friars Bay Beach Club. If you decide on it, you should ask for directions locally, as there is a main gate for it which is closed and locked and you have to go down further to a kind of bumpy dirt road to get there.

If beach is most important, I would go to El Zafiro over Friars. Nicer beach, good food and drinks and Eric the beach boy (young man) will take good care of you.

Bikini opened this last weekend. All of the open places between Bikini and where Pedro's was are closing for a while so that the government can clean the beach. I heard it could be several weeks.

I would never recommend El Zafiro for food. As far as the beach, it's a nice beach UNLESS there is seaweed. There were a few days during the last half of June when the beach there was INUNDATED with seaweed. That end of Simpson Bay Beach gets the vast majority of the seaweed.

Is Bikini serving food?? They were supposed to be opening when we were on island and they looked a LONG way away

Opened yesterday and serving food according to posts and picture on FB

Well, okay then!! Glad we see eye to that one. NOT!!

Quite honestly, I really like both places but personally speaking, I think the better food can be found at FBBC on Friars Baie Beach but the better beach area at ElZafiro.

The down-side there is the beach at Friars Baie can get crazy with celebrants on most holidays. We were there one Easter and saw the locals having a ball but the place was mobbed and they were really into the idea of party! Party! PARTY!! Thing is, I don’t know if they celebrate our Independence Day as one of their holidays though I’m willing to bet they do..... The rocky entrance to the beach can be daunting as can the roads to get there on either end. FBBC can be expensive and their drinks, for sure, but it’s so very good! They used to give free chairs and umbrellas (though you had to pay for the cushions if you wanted them for the hard plastic chairs....) to those who eat and drink there but I read somewhere - maybe here? - they now charge for chair set-ups. I don’t honestly remember what the bathroom facilities are at FBBC and I seem to remember they don’t take CCs.

And as for El Zafiro, we love it there and think the beach is slightly better than Friars, having no rocky 3 to 4 foot gravel to pass over before the beach enters into the water. However, many say the food is not great although we’ve both always had good food (I usually have salad plates and DH generally enjoys burgers...) and good service as well. It’s a nicer beach given the quality of the sand but we’ve also experienced heavy Sargasso seaweed accumulating at that corner of the beach a few years ago when the Sargasso was rampant. It gets busy there but not usually as wild as Friars Bay on holidays and they did accept CCs as of a year ago. We didn’t get down yet this year but I think they still accept them. And the good news is the chairs are (or were last April) free with lunch and or drinks. Great bathrooms and free to guests.

It might be a matter of choosing a beach based on convenience to where you’re staying.

Our personal favorite beach is Mullet but the question mark for me would again be the crowds and whether or not food, which to us means Roses BBQ ribs...., was available. In either place parking can be problematic if you don’t get there early and we always park at Mullet by backing into a spot and making certain we won’t get blocked in by other cars. Food is very reasonable, umbrellas and chairs typical and portapottys - a dollar to use, I think, and no CCs accepted on the beach.

pat--I assumed, without knowing, that French locals would not be interested in celebrating our July 4th, but it could be any excuse to party! There are regular bathrooms at FBBC and they do not accept credit cards, correct. Mullet is a beautiful beach, but I didn't even suggest it, as I think he's looking for more of a restaurant and currently there's no place to even eat at Mullet other than on your chairs, and she's not even serving fries, just salad, ribs an chicken IF there is a ship in.

So by that, i’m guessing Nick is not a cooler on the beach kind of guy? We often bring our food and libations to Mullet and spend enjoyable days there but I do get that that’s not for everyone.

French side I would try Rainbow in Grand Case.

Dutch you may wish to spend the day at Mary's Boon.

Leona--so many people have reported really surly service at Rainbow. Did you get there this year, I don't remember.

Yes we did. Stopped in for a drink and to "talk" to them, but we were passing through and didn't stay.

I'm thinking Nick is a bon vivant and might speak French? He may have a much better time than others......

Nick is English, not sure if he speaks French, but wouldn't be surprised!!

Have tried El Zafrio 3 times . Have not been impressed.

pat--I don't think that's what he's looking for, cooler to the beach, no. If so, especially if there is no 'cliff', it's hard to beat Mullet.

Bikini beach & orient bay.

Agreed Mort. El Zafiro is a lovely day., nice beach...but not the best food experience. It is passable.

I would also suggest Mary's Boon. Nice beach; free chairs and umbrella with lunch; good food and service. Not upscale, but nice enough based on the places currently open.

AnnandSteve recently spent a nice day at Rainbow. She speaks some French and said they had good service and food. As an aside, I've been told they have new server staff in the evening and that the ambiance and food are wonderful. I've seen pictures on FB, and it does look lovely.

I also would recommend Mary's Boon. Excellent food.

Weather Outlook for the Fourth of July is good...

Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset... repeat!

I believe Ann also said they were served on the beach by Jean, who is lovely. If you wan't to stay on the beach, he'll take good care of you.

OOOOO la la Carol????

Did Bikine on theit 1st day open...wow. Managed to drink 5 bottles of their finest rose??? Thank you all guys for your thoughts, going to try Rainbow

OK, Enjoy!!! So I guess Bikini must have been ok!!!

Have a great day and let us know how it goes. I myself love Rainbow.

Jean will take great care of you on the beach. He will even do shots with you...lol

Linda, yes..Jeff J had a good meal there recently as well.